‘Knives Out 3’ director slams streaming platform CEO over absurd comment

The Knives Out 3 director, Rian Johnson, shared his thoughts on the controversial comment made by the streaming platform CEO Ted Sarandos.

Last month, Sarandos - who is the chief executive officer of Netflix - during the Times 100 event said that going to cinemas and theatres is now an "outdated concept," as not everyone has an immediate access to the cinemas.

However, Johnson, who’s upcoming film Wake Up Dead Man: Knives Out Mystery is set to release on Netflix, disagreed to it during an interview with the Business Insider.

He argued that going to the cinema is far from obsolete, stating, "I love movies. I love going to movies."

After admitting that he doesn’t know the full context to Sarandos comment, he further pointed out the success of Sinners and A Minecraft Movie, both a proof that people still go to watch movies on big screens.

"I think theatrical is not going anywhere. I think we've seen [that] if you put a movie people want to see in the theatres, they are going to show up for it," he said.

In fact, he wants the same thing for his forthcoming movie, urging for it to have a long theatrical run.

"I want this in as many theatres for as long as possible," Johnson said of the film. "We’re going to push for everything we can get in terms of theatrical, because I want as many people as possible to see it in that form.”

According to the Entertainment Weekly, in 2022, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, saw the streamer partner with major theatre chains to play the film in 600 movie theatres nationwide for one week, about a month before its streaming launch.

The Wake Up Dead Man: Knives Out Mystery starring Daniel Craig and Josh O'Connor is scheduled to be released in the second half of 2025.